The 9th Indian Sommelier Championship: Wine, winners & accolades!

The 9th edition of the Indian Sommelier Championship concluded on the 16th of October with a gala dinner at the Pullman Aerocity New Delhi. The preparations for this year started last year, both for the organisers as also for the participants, in an effort to make the competition more intense, tougher, and more legit. Gagan Sharma gives us the low down…

For the first time, the results were audited by an outside firm to further substantiate the veracity and validity of the results. Winning on this stage is no small feat and the organisers had to ensure that talent and skill were the only merit that earned someone their rightful reward.

Three days of classes were held at the regal Sofitel Hotel in BKC, Mumbai and the Pullman Aerocity New Delhi before the ten finalists were chosen to perform in front of the jury. The jury this year comprised:Â Isabel LOMENIE, Winemaker from Barsac and head of the wine committee at The Pullman Aerocity; Laurent GIRAUD, Ex-restaurateur and Head of F&B Faculty at Ansal University; Sumedh MANDLA, F&B stalwart and current head of Grover-Zampa Vineyards; Yangdup LAMA, Beverage specialist and owner of Speakeasy: Cocktails & Dreams bar.

The candidates had the following tasks laid out for them: The top ten battled it out through the various rounds

Decanting and serving still wine

Opening and serving sparkling wine

Blind tasting and commenting on a still wine

Blind tasting and commenting on a sparkling wine

Pouring the perfect pint

Blind tasting and commenting on a beer

Blind tasting and commenting on a cocktail

Food & wine pairing

Judgesâ€™ Viva including a question on the Indian Wine industry

A total of 20 minutes were allowed to complete all these tasks.

Finally, after all was done, the awards were audited by an accountancy firm who then signed on the results. These were then announced during a black tie gala at the Peacock Ballroom of the Pullman Aerocity New Delhi (the dress code was Black, White & Peacock) which was attended by over 100 of the industry stalwarts and media.

A special inclusion this year, a first for the ISC, was the introduction of â€œThe Lynchpinâ€, a small way of saying thank you to the people that we believe have been instrumental in shaping the industry. This year the competition chose to honour Reva K SINGH of Sommelier India magazine and Sanjay MENON of Sonarys wine imports, both of whom have been a pivotal part of the Indian wine industry since its early days.